What is the process of making meaning from what we experience in the world around us?

SPRING SEMESTER 2021

How We Perceive Others

● Perception: ○ The process of making meaning from what we experience in the world around us ● We notice 2 experiences: ○ Physical : fatigue & congestion & we equate that to being sick ○ Environmental : wind & rain & we equate that to a storm coming ● Also apply the process to people called interpersonal perception ○ This helps us make meaning from our own & others’ behaviors

Perception is a process

● We usually think our perceptions are objective, factual reflections of the world because we analyze so fast ● The perception that we form depends on which pieces of info we want to pay attention to, how we organize them in our mind, & how we interpret their meaning. ● There are 3 stages of perception: ○ Selection ○ Organization ○ Interpretation

Selection is the first stage

● Sensory experiences of hearing, seeing, & smelling cam make you to form perceptions ○ However, it’s impossible to pay attention to all of them; we engage in selection

● Selection: ○ The process by which our mind & body help us isolate certain stimuli to pay attention to ○ There are 3 characteristics to make a stimulus more likely to be selected for attention: ■ Being unusual or unexpected ■ Repetition or frequency ■ Intensity ○ Reticular formation (part of the brain): ■ Serves in helping us focus on certain stimuli

Organization is the second stage

● Organization: ○ The classification of info according to its similarities to & differences from other things we know about ● To classify a stimulus: ○ Our brains apply a perceptual schema to it ■ Which is a mental framework for organizing info into constructs (categories) ● Peter Andersen researched that we use 4 types of schema: ○ Physical constructs: ■ Emphasizes appearance ○ Role constructs: ■ Emphasizes social or professional position ○ Interaction constructs: ■ Emphasizes behavior ○ Psychological constructs: ■ Emphasizes thoughts & feelings

Interpretation is the final stage

1. Identify a group to which we think they belong
2. Recall a generalization about that group
3. Apply that generalization a) ex.) we know that someone is an accountant & we recall a generalization that they have no humor; we apply to them by saying or thinking “you must not have a sense of humor” ● Stereotyping can lead to inaccurate & offensive perceptions ○ However, they are not necessarily inaccurate

Primacy & recency effects influence perceptions

● Primacy effect: ○ A principle that says that first impressions are critical because they set the tone for all future interactions ○ First impressions of someone’s communication behaviors seem to stick in or minds more than the next ones ● Psychologist Solomon Asch ○ Found that when the description of someone beings with a positive adjective, the effects of the more negative ones that follow are diminished ○ His study showed that the first info we learn about someone tends to have a stronger effect ● Recency effect: ○ A principle that says that the most recent impression we have of a person’s communication is more powerful than our earlier impressions ■ The first & last impressions are more important than the ones in- between

Perceptual sets influence perceptions

● Perceptual set: ○ A predisposition to perceive only what we want or expect to perceive ■ ex.) our perceptual set regarding gender guides the way we perceive,

think, & interact with newborns ○ They can affect our communication behavior ■ ex.) if the newborn is female, we speak in a softer voice ○ Also influences how we make sense of people, circumstances, & events ■ ex.) religious people may talk about healings and miracles or answers to prayers, while non-religious people may equate it to medication

Communicating & Explaining Our Perceptions

We Explain Behavior Through Attributions

● Attribution: ○ An explanation of an observed behavior, the answer to the question “Why did this happen?” ○ Tend to vary along 3 dimensions: locus, stability, & controllability

Attributions vary in locus

● Locus: ○ Describes the place where the cause of a behaviors is “located,” whether within or outside ourselves ○ Internal loci: ■ Meaning they’re caused by a particular characteristic of ourselves ○ External loci: ■ Meaning they are caused by something outside ourselves ○ ex.) Boss is late for work ■ Internal attribution that we might make about them is that they have lost track of time OR they’re making us wait on purpose ■ External attribution is the traffic is heavy OR an earlier meeting they were attending has run long

Attributions vary in stability

● Stability: ○ The cause of a behavior that is stable or unstable

○ The tendency to attribute other people’s behaviors to internal rather than external causes ■ ex.) A doctor seeing you for only a couple of minutes; we equate that as internal attribution thinking that they are not caring ○ Our behaviors are often responses to external forces ● Good communicators recognize the tendency to form internal attributions for people’s behaviors, but they force themselves to consider external causes

How We Perceive Ourselves

Self-Concept Defined

● Self-concept: ○ Our own stable perceptions about who we are; also called our identity ○ Are multifaceted & partly subjective

Self-concept is multifaceted

● Define ourselves in many different ways: ○ Our name ○ Physical or social categories ○ Use of our skills or interests ○ Our relationships to other people ○ Our evaluations of ourselves ● Your self-concept has several different parts, & each of your descriptions taps into one or more of those parts ○ The self is a collection of smaller selves ● Another way to think about self-concept is to distinguish between aspects of yourself that are known to others & aspects that are known only to you ● In 1995, psychologists Joseph Luft & Harry Ingham created the Johari window ○ Is a visual representation of the self as composed of 4 separate parts ■ Open area: is characteristics known by both to the self & others ■ Hidden area: are characteristics that you know but choose not to

reveal ■ Blind area: aspects of ourselves that others see in us, but we don’t ■ Unknown area: aspects of our self-concept that are not known either to us or to others ● Can construct a different Johari window that reflects your self-concept with each of person

Self-concept is partly subjective

● Subjective: ○ Means that they are based on the impressions we have of ourselves rather than on objective facts ● It’s commonly difficult for people to evaluate themselves accurately or objectively ○ Sometimes our self-assessments are unreasonably positive ○ In contrast, sometimes our judgments of ourselves are unreasonably negative ■ Especially true for people with low self-esteem ● They tend to magnify the importance of their failures ● Underestimate their abilities, & ● When they get negative feedback, they are more likely to believe it accurately reflects their worth

Awareness of the Self-concept

Self-monitoring is being self-aware

● Self-monitoring: ○ Is an awareness of how you look & sound; how your behavior is affecting those around you ○ Ranges from high to low ■ High: They pay attention to how others are reacting to their own behaviors; have the ability to adjust their communication as needed ■ Low: express whatever they are thinking or feeling w/o paying attention to the impression they’re creating

■ In this sense, image management is collaborative ○ This term was coined by psychologist Dan McAdam ● If others accept the image you portray, they will tend to behave in ways that encourage that image ● However, if others don’t accept that image of you; they may treat you as less credible or as untrustworthy ○ ex.) Racheal Dolezal

We manage multiple identities

● In different platforms/formats & with different people we have a personality that another person or platform may not see. ○ Especially on the internet

Image management is complex

● Often complicated & may generate competing goals for our interactions with others ○ ex.) Want an advance from you boss, but also want to appear as a responsible & mature employee ● Mrya Goldschmidt, communication research, found that when people ask for favors, they often create narratives to help them to maintain their image while still being persuasive

Communication & Face Needs

Face & face needs constitute our desired public image

● Sociologist Erving Goffman coined the term face : ○ Our desired public image ● And the term facework : ○ The behaviors we use to project our desired public image to others ● Our face is made up 3 different face needs : ○ Important components of our desired public image ○ They are: ■ Fellowship face: The need to have others like & accept us

● This motivates us to make friends, join clubs & social groups, etc. ■ Autonomy face: Our need to avoid being imposed on by others ● This motivates us to be in control of our time & resources; to dislike having other people make decisions for us ■ Competence face: Our need to be respected-- to have others acknowledge our abilities & intelligence ● This drives us to seek careers & hobbies that we can excel in & to avoid embarrassing situations

We are confronted with face threats

● Face-threatening act: ○ An act that hinders the fulfillment of one or more of our face needs ○ ex.) applying to an internship & not getting chosen ■ This could threaten your fellowship & competence face ● Face-threatening acts often lead people to behave in ways that help them restore their face ○ ex.) saying that you didn’t want the internship anyways. ■ This statement is a defense mechanism : ● A response that minimizes the effects of a face-threatening act

What is the process of creating meaning based on experience called?

What is the ongoing process of making meaning from what we experience in our environment?

Which term refers to the ongoing process of making meaning from what we experience in our environment attribution primacy egocentrism perception?

Which term describes the process of making sense out of the world?